check it

★ sticky ★

i keep finding myself wanting to recommend multiple things; youtube videos, music, books, anything- and i thought that it would be more convenient to store in one place. plus, i like the design more than my previous pages.

also, i'd like to note that there are infinite things i want to recommend to people. but for my time's sake, ive only put things here that ive discovered/wanted to show recently, so my favorite things of all time probably arent here. doubt you care, but thought i'd mention it anyway.

>_< enjoy!!!!!!!

shoushimin series

i loved this show. to be honest, i only really started it because shows that feature pretty desserts just appeal to me as someone with a sweet tooth. but the mysteries and relationships between the characters really drew me in. their determination to live normally kind of makes me want to do my best too. imo, the ending was a little unsatisfying, but apparently season 2 is confirmed for april 2025. i'm gonna try reading the light novels.

i who have never known men

by jacqueline harpman
very touching. i really like novels about miserable situations and/or what people do in isolation, confinement, total boredom, etc. this book had that but still managed to have a sense of optimism. though a lot of questions aren't resolved, i didn't feel unsatisfied when i finished reading. it felt like that was how it was supposed to be. also, usually i hate scifi. can't pinpoint why. but this is (slightly) scifi and i really did love it, i read it in only two sittings.

superstar!

by zømb
this is my favourite music genre. it's labelled as webcore and house, but others songs under those genres aren't as intense, i think. i just really like how strong it is... like, its fun in a really harsh way, if that makes sense? it's the type of song that hits you in the face with awe... also, the soundcloud visualisation has a cool wave effect. honestly, i like almost all of zømb's singles, that was the main reason i chose this song in particular... that, and anime girls with pixelated star backgrounds just really appeal to me. in their spotify profile, they also have a playlist with similar sounding music (first track by femtanyl, always a good sign) that i'll link as well.

offline

by nacho
lots of harsh breaks but plenty of other types of sounds too. i thought the cricket sfx at the end of the first track was so subtle and cool but all of the samples fit really well into their respective tracks. i cant pick a favourite between "live happily, or something like that" and "sorry and goodbye"... the former is really fun and cute but the latter is so somber...

rave gundam revolution

by psychoangel
this album is full of tracks that make you wanna move around. just a really diverse selection of sounds, it keeps you guessing. not to mention the album art looks so fucking cool. my favourite track is prolly "x-sen shushi 7000" just cuz i think its funky.

bipolar

by inf3rnxxx
this album is so underrated!! i'm not too familiar with what genres mean what and how they're classified, but i think that this album sounds like phonk music. i'm really into the harsh sound of it, it's difficult for me to describe. there's only three tracks on the album, but they really make an impact.

kaleidoscope

by turquoisedeath
this album has a few songs that were already released before the album itself, but it's still got a bunch of new songs i like. there's a lot of slow-paced tracks in there, but despite my preference for songs with quick paces, i still really liked them- especially "so far away", which i think has vocaloid samples in it. i think my favourite track is probably "subterrane", it feels like something crazy is happening. the album description says that its about "exploring wonderland." i'm not super sure what that means, but it totally manages to tell a story even though it's got almost zero lyrics (depending on how you count samples.) also, the album art is super beautiful and kinda ethereal, and there's a new piece for each track.

imigrantes road episode 3

by ghosttundra
you may know ghosttundra of the popular youtube series "lacey's flash games." they do a lot of cool stuff with mixed media, and i really like the music and stories they tell. this episode is brand new and i think it's quickly become my favourite.

the weirdest ds games

by melody nosurname
i've wanted to rec this youtuber for a while now, but when i saw this video on my favourite medium (videogames) by my favourite large company (nintendo) on my favourite product (ds) and favourite handheld (ds)... i couldn't resist!! also, i think melody puts a lot of effort into her videos... the transitions, the funny scripting and bits, the presentation and visuals, not to mention the puppet and the going outside shots (shudder.) interesting to hear about shitty not lost media ds games!

because im 17 & autistic & obsessed w/ machine girl

by V3CT0RGRAPH1CS
this album really caters to the sounds im into. as one commenter puts it, "this sounds like the bastard love child of femtanyl and machine girl from a parallel universe died and their ghost is making music from beyond the grave." goes pretty fucking hard! i also like how its a reference to the machine girl album "because i'm young and arrogant and hate everything you stand for." my favourite track is НЕНАВИДЕТЬ (HATE) because of the lyrics sound cool and have the exact filter applied that i'm so used to hearing in the music this album references...

class of 09: the flipside

by sbn3
i made a sleepy list of thoughts after binging a 3 hour playthru (i wanted to wait till the weekend but couldn't help myself + didn't want socmed fomo/spoilers) and, rereading it now, i don't have anything to add. so i'll just leave it here in bullet point form.

• kinda depressing
• 3/6 endings focused on foot fetishes and why were there only 6 anyway? i kinda expected more from such an anticipated game, especially compared to its predecessors
• the writing for nicole felt a little off, shes doing too much in this one. as in too much actual work and too little manipulation from the sidelines.
• the writing for emily felt a little off also, she wasnt manic enough
• jeckas life is much, much worse than nicoles and yet shes so much less suicidal?? tf???????? thereagain i guess thats just postdivorce,,,
• it got too real at certain points... like the slave trade bit and the abusive teacher relationship... like there wasnt enough comedy to balance out the sad parts. again though, that's subjective. maybe they were trying to be edgier this time?
• also on the comedy. its not like it wasnt funny, but when i checked the reddit, people were laughing abt the same three bits: the 7-second bullying, the casual brother arrest and hat man. like, YES they were good bits, but... there werent ENOUGH good bits.
• all the art was pretty great. i made the pre-ari-car-accident graphic my homescreen lul. the crossover route w the main game (nicole's suicide) is a good example cuz u can compare jecka walking around nicole's room to nicole's corpse, it definitely looks better... altho nicole could just look stiff cuz. shes dead.
• voice acting was top notch
• they even made mr burleday a pedo fuckkkkkkk! i thought he was just regular scum
• the nicole:jecka ratio was not that good... ik nicole's a side character in this game but jecka's a side character in the first two games and she showed up way more than nicole! and considering they're eachother's only real friends, you'd think they appear more, and equally so from both perspectives?
• way too much jeffrey but thats more of a personal gripe than an actual piece of criticism

killed by an angel

by alice schach and the magic orchestra (nene akagawa and yuni minami), GIVE ME! tomotaka

i found this mv before but i never got the chance to express my love for it... honestly, i think it's amazing. the animation is in an incredible style that kinda reminds me of rubber hose animation with a little bit of anime influence? it's so cool, and i also really like the thick lineart and especially the use of colour. using the monochrome colour palette in the real life (?) scenes and the vibrant, warm palette in the heaven/od (?) scenes.

the music is intense and beautiful (the singer's voice's drawls and screams are so amazing.) there's general themes of grooming and abortion which use really interesting visual metaphors, like the umbilical cord as a noose and stuff like that. not sure what the angels are supposed to represent, perhaps past aborted babies?

anyway, i have yet to mention maybe my favourite part of this, its that the lyrics are a made up language! i honestly haven't really had the time to do a deep dive to find any details about it (busy w irl stuff ;;;;), so i don't know how complicated it is exactly, but i think it's super cool and a really innovative idea for lyrics in general. i'll link a post from asatmo's blog below that talks a teeny bit about it but is also just kind of uplifting in general. hopefully i can find out more soon!!

shut-in vampire

by ebihime
a cute statsim vn about managing the life of a shutin vampire, stuck inside by the church to make sure she doesn't accidently suck anyone's blood. it's a pretty wholesome game (as far as i've played, and so far it's 5/20 endings) despite the premise. the character shading and poses kinda remind me of danganronpa sprites due to how much the clothes are creased and the stiff position, but apart from that, i really adore the 2008 clannad-esque art style, especially those huge square eyes. the music is also kinda funky, and i mean that in a good way. very chill!

the writing is well thought out and compelling, as always for ebihime!! the net route really appealed to me as a chronline person. i kinda wish there was an ending for some of the characters... i mean, i guess that's their final dialogue, but usually they agree to meet up or do something and we never get to see it? but thereagain, this was made for the october game jam and already has so many other features i really like, so i don't think it's worth considering.

(i'm never sure whether to put visual novels under reading or games...)

but not kiss

by faye webster
i actually found this song from a jeckole animatic... something about the soft vocals and comparatively extreme piano notes is really nice for me. i'm not that interested in the rest of webster's stuff, but i think that's just because it's not my preferred sound- a lot of soft songs and gentle melodies. i think i like this song in particular because of the sharp contrast!

carol/ the price of salt

by patricia highsmith
i felt myself get invested in the characters so much! the love story reads a lot like how i think i remember therese describing how she thought love was supposed to be like, like a kind of "blissful insanity." highsmith really established carol as a character very well, i loved the way both she and therese developed, especially towards the end. you can definitely tell she usually writes thrillers, ahah.

chess (story)/ the royal game

by stefan zweig
covers the human mind during isolation and mania. interesting!! i've been meaning to read more novellas and short story collections recently, and i really enjoyed this. not much has to happen plot-wise, and a book doesn't have to have 2cm+ spine to make you think a lot. it was also written very nicely; i hate when books go on and on with really complex prose that i can't understand without looking stuff up every second but, even though it's not simple, this book doesn't do that. which is odd to me because usually i stick to contemporary stuff specifically BECAUSE of that frilly writing style. not to say it's inherently bad.

REIWA TYPE 4

by kohta "solidstate" takahashi
cool album full of experimental tracks. ambient elements *thumbs up*

crazy speedcore drumming!

by shosy
i think shosy is super underrated, he's so talented at drumming?!? i think in this video he shows off how fast he can drum and its so cool.

the guy she was interested in wasn't a guy at all

by sumiko arai
i'm not sure if this has become well-known or if it just keeps following me... it has a large twitter community, which makes sense seeing as it started off on twitter. a high school rock music yuri story that starts with a gyaru mistaking the girl who works at the cd shop for a guy. i love the artstyle, not just because it's generally cute but the COLOUR. it's the typical manga black/white but with the same shade of green? i've personally never seen this type of colouring before and i think it's great. it really establishes it's own look, and makes everything fit together really well.

inkya gal demo ikigaritai!

by kashiwagi tsukiko
this manga really appeals to the things i like. it has yuri, comedy, slice of life, modern day culture discussion, gyarus, the stoic x airhead trope... very very cute. i laughed outloud while reading this!!! the artstyle is adorable and the characters are very likeable. i think it's on some sort of hiatus right now? i found this from reverse image search on soundcloud. if i had a nickel each time i found an interesting manga thru breakcore cover art, i would have 2 nickles, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice. i recommend finding new reads this way. also, the jp title can also mean something lewd i guess, so i'd recommend looking up the english title. (⇀‸↼‶)

the importance of inconvenience

by mecklesfrog
a more well thought out and better said commentary of modern "content" consumption than the post i tried to explain a few months ago.

all about lily chou chou

i've been meaning to watch this movie for a while because i've heard such high praise about it from different sources. i did like it- i think i got more into it as time went on. the movie is quite sad, but i think it makes the morsels of hope in it shine a lot brighter because of that. it reminds me of the book "heaven" by meiko kawakami. the non-linear narrative is cool and definitely fits but confused me a lot, so i kept a wikipedia plot summary open on another tab and scrolled and read in sync.

speaking of, the wikipedia page is super interesting; production notes, for one, in the scene i won't disclose where very many people were needed, apparently everyone was given lines and backstories despite not having speaking roles. and the camera used was influenced by hideaki anno, creator of evangelion! AND the posts came from a real website called "lilyholic" that shunji iwai, the director, made.

he put a lot of work into making lily chou chou seem real- a lot of media i like have a focus on music, and the music ends up not being, imo, that good. especially when there are scenes where characters' eyes light up and are touched and all that. i think k-on is a good example of this, where despite the show, the music is kinda average. maybe bocchi the rock! also... but the album that features in the film is kind of beautiful. i can definitely see people use this music to cling to in times of tragedy or loneliness.

why you need a third place

by amandamaryanna
a really smooth video on a concept i had heard of but wasn't 100% sure about. also one of my favourite examples of how good and interesting video essays don't have to be 1+ hours long!!

make bad art

by pato
a really insightful video essay on how ,... you should create stuff. it's hard to write a summary and the video is onl 20 mins. very eye opening!!

precipice

by aaron cherof
i was surprised at how much i liked the new mince raft disc. there are a lot of purists out there for minecraft music (or just the game in general), but i think this has definitely held up minecraft's standard for impressive songs.

it reminded me a lot of music from undertale. lena raine, an artist who also makes music for minecraft, has worked on several other soundtracks including deltarune, so there might be influence there. coincidentally, cherof also worked on music for the mobile game mini metro, which i recommend because it is free (or on some platforms ~£1), has no ads, and is fun :3

WEIGHTLESS!

by femtanyl
i've mentioned femtanyl here before, her songs are usually energetic, this one included. along with two other songs (AND I'M GONE and WORLDWID3 in collaboration with zombAe) this is one of the singles released by femtanyl after the CHASER album where she gained a lot of popularity!

anyway, the song's lyrics are comparatively lethargic at the beginning and more aggressive as it goes on. i can't really make sense of it, but there's generally a theme of suicide + following murder charges, abduction, and insanity. also, there's this sample from the exorcist iii where damien karras speaks about how a decapitated head can keep seeing for 20 seconds; 20 seconds later, the song ends. nice detail ^_^

(p.s. i hope you like how these posts have become more carefully-edited over time-- i think this blog has come a long way in terms of cohesion and sticking to the topic instead of talking about my own personal experiences, which aren't really what i want to highlight, lol. )

lucky star ova

i've been meaning to watch this but only recently got around to it. it's a perfect combination of unrelated segments, just like the show. and of course, features kagami as miku, which i have screenshot and treasured for years. it's not extraordinary but lucky star never really was so ? the live segment at the end was a funny little jumpscare, and there's a few references to something niche i would never be able to get. overall, i definitely enjoyed, can't believe i put it off for so long!!

red trees

a cute rpgmaker game about trying to find out what happened in the forest. npc dialogue is top notch. i found it really fun!!! cool tricolour palette as well. pretty sure it has some replay value with all the side-quests there are, i had to keep notes lol.

INUKO NO UTA!!

by fumoffumomo
very sad and upbeat at the same time, and i really can't figure out how they got that effect. the screaming sfx are great. honestly all of their songs are great, i strongly suggest giving them a listen. i haven't been able to find them anywhere else except soundcloud and some social media sites, i think they are genuinely underrated. very pretty music. i think its all mostly vocal synths but im not sure if theres some real voices in there too.

mushroom musume

a game where you grow up a little spore to become a fully-fledged person, and live that life! not only are the events of the game well written and fun to watch play out, but there is so much variety in the choices you can make!! ive had ~5 runs, and each of them have been completely different (two baby-deaths though, whoops.) and all your runs are tracked and there are different achievements and types of mushroom, all categorised neatly for easy access, which i appreciate. a nice soundtrack too. i think my favourite aspects of it are how comforting it is and how much choice you have.

【うごメモ】人マニア【OC】

by 三度口内炎
i think this is the best flipnote i've ever seen? hypnotic, thats how good it is. i've watched it 10+ times now...

silver thread: deux

by spicaze
i'm already a super huge fan of these games, so i was super excited when this came out... the characters are further developed in this episode, i love them so much!!! all the little interactions have had a lot of thought put into them. although, from experience living here, i can confirm that london does not have beautiful snowy weather, lol. also this episode just had a longer plot and more things to investigate, which was really fun.

my only complaint is that getting the good ending was hard-- and, i know that that's kind of the appeal of both rpgmaker/rpgmaker-esque and detective games (the creator mentions this was partially inspired by ace attorney in the post-mortem.) im also not the type to 100% every game i play, but the bad ending was so sad, so i totally had to!! anyway, its not that hard to adjust your score if you follow the walkthru... but ideally i feel like i would like the game more if the spirit box wasnt necessary, like it prompted you itself.

anyway, im sure that sort of stuff doesnt bother a lot of people. the rest is absolutely amazing. ah also, the sprite art has hugely improved!!! you can see it in the contrast of beaford and alicia's sprites and the others, especially caspian- he had a cool angle going on. the number of tracks is also wider, which is cool. you really feel like a detective playing this. definitely recommend!!!!!

p.s. i miss my neocity. exams are alright but time consuming.

judge

by slought
this kind of reminds me of clown music.. its not like anything ive heard before. the drop's awesome. the little tweaked bits towards the end that make it sound like a microphone is going "beeeeep" (i dont know how to describe it) is sooo good, it makes it sound so freaky!!!!!!

what even is
b@#$%core?

by hkmori
really hectic (in a good way) and i like the background piano.

remains of a corrupted file

by s777n
chill, vocals in the background are pretty sweet. breaks fit well too

i hate everything about me

by gut spiller
the breaks in this one are chopped so well!! and i cant tell what instrument they use, but its kind of like, something peaceful and metallic... i really like it

butterfly soup 2

sigh, its valentines day. what better time to play yuri vns? (brace yourself for a long review, sorry. but im not really sorry, because i used more words to type this out.)

such a long play time, and i mean that in a good way! i did think it was a little over the top, partly because at some points the bits were very vine-ish, kind of 2018... but if you think you're above that, then you'll never laugh at anything. overall, it definitely made me laugh outloud many times. also some parts really caught me off guard and i was like... does this fit here? maybe not... the ending was kind of blunt too (if a bit less so than the first game) but it doesnt take away from how good the rest of the game is. there's very natural dialogue so the people feel real!!!!!!!!

every character feels like a real person, so you grow to like them all. my favs are probably... diya first. then liz... but i love all of them after that equally. i dont dislike a single one! at the beginning noelle and min-seo and akarsha and the weebs and the older girls allll pissed me off a bit but i grew to like them, especially min-seo and noelle. they really matured. they really fleshed out the characters, even the background ones, which i liked a lot. and redid some of the worse-for-wear sprites (akarsha and min-seo's.) and there was more music!

overall, i definitely recommend this and the first butterfly soup, especially if you're into vns with little choice but lots of hidden bonuses, yuri, baseball, switched perspectives, post y2k era games, exploration of asian identities/immigration and american highschool shenanigans. (still can be played even if you dont like baseball.)

it gets so lonely here

by ebihime
a very poetic semi-kinetic novel about a girl, trying to find solace after a long journey. not sure if it should be classed as a game or reading... has great visuals too, very pretty art.

paper lily

by leef 6010
paper lily (and its prequel, project kat) is an extremely charming rpg maker game about a girl performing rituals to find out how to lift her curse! it boasts a lengthy and exciting playtime, and has many chapters to come. its genuinely so fun, my only problem is with a minigame i think was a bit too unforgiving, but apart from that i think its perfect. maybe my favourite itchio game of all time.

gospel of eve

by spicaze
the story of this game (and its accompanying games, which i also rec) are really interesting to me. its a teensy bit buggy, but i think that can be overlooked, considering all the other games work pretty well. it's all about exorcism, with a cynical protagonist and her somewhat upbeat sidekick. the characters just seem super real and i get so invested in them..!! its also got a wonderful soundtrack.

rainy day

by touloumou
i'm not usually into platformers, but this one really appealed to me. the gist is, you're trying to get home in the rain, and things just don't go your way. i really like the ascii style and the primary gameplay loop was so simple but so good?!? i kept coming back for more (even though i got frustrated by my poor timing) till i beat it. very fun!!

anime baseball episodes

by clearandsweet
can filler be good?

"tiktok gave me autism"

by alexander avila
a discussion about the politics of self diagnosis and its prevalence.

lets sequence break the universe together

by a_lilian
a surreal take on life, sort of, with pretty vr footage alongside it.

post-punk videogames

by yahtzee from second wind
a good explanation of what post-punk is in videogames, and stuff about indie games against aaa games.

a summary of georgism

by britmonkey
i never knew about this concept, and i think that the more people who do, the better.

hajime hinata character analysis

by mooshka
even if you dont like danganronpa, i think you should give this a chance!! this channel is new and ive really been liking the vids so far ^_^

脳漿炸裂ガール (cerebral explosion girl)

post 15 from the old music blog
by rerulili
i put soundcloud on shuffle and it was sooooo worth it!! give this a listen, its so catchy... the mv is also insane, def worth a watch, super surreal.

DUI

post 14 from the old music blog
by tsaik
very chill, but it keeps u on ur toes

GIRL HELL 1999

post 13 from the old music blog
by femtanyl
very energetic. rararrrrarrrrrr. i dont really dance, but i could dance to some of this maybe... its one of those songs that makes me shake my head a little, like a half head bang. this isnt a description, im just not sure how to describe it, maybe just listen if ur in the mood for something upbeat and screamy.

anata shi t0

post 12 from the old music blog
by rory in early 20s
i got super hyped for this because rory posted about it on youtube before its release, so as soon as i got home i took a listen, and i wasnt let down!!!!!!!! it has that signature kinda fade in, and a bunch of jp dialogue, then cuts to this super metallic and warpy tune which i really like. but my FAV part is when there are these cuts half way thru? i think they start ~1:40 on the yt vid, but i was so excited its like aahragr and then the next part is so metallic, idk how to describe these things properly just listen urself!! one thing i like about this artist is that there are always new unexpected things in her tracks, especially her recent ones, so pleaaaase listen to this its SO good. \(≧◡≦)/

run home

post 11 from the old music blog
by 633397
mmm ive been studying a lot lately, so ive had the chance to listen to looooooads of music. this one is very light hearted, but its part of a two track album which i think tells a deeper story of some kind. i mean look at the cover!! maybe its from a dream or a real experience? i havent listened to this artist too much. 633397 and c!erra m$st are two artists i really want to dedicate more time to going thru their tracks. anyway yes, very bouncy song.

flowerbounce

post 10 from the old music blog
by strxwberrymilk
idk. very wonderland-y, alien-y. the end of the song sounds completely different to the beginning, which i think totally adds to the weird-cool vibe. not sure... as far as im aware, strxb does a lot of space themed music (this is from the album eloise, but if you want more spacey stuff i recommend escape from the blue marble and gaia!!) so i think this has some of that influence.

10 hours of pondering my existence

post 9 from the old music blog
by nasanoa
this song is really beautiful to me... i really recommend this artist, but i cant seem to find anywhere where nasanoa themself posted the song (the links below are randos posting it and then nasanoa's bandcamp acc, fyi. i also wasnt sure what to put for the image, so i just chose one of their album covers on their discography.) its very pretty, the piano is so gentle and elaborate, and then the clips of dialogue work sooo well with the beat drop. especially that bit where the girl's voice gets a bit whiny and high, and then the cry afterward is soooooo.... so human!!!!!!!!! idk what media its from tho.

after death the murmuring continues

post 8 from the old music blog
by wake forld
dont exactly remember how i came across this gem. not really my genre, but so beautiful to listen to. the voices sound like angels. i like this artist's songs. please check it out!!

yours forever

post 7 from the old music blog
by usedcvnt and abyssal.angel
i was soooo into this song for a while, i memorised the lyrics. i was listening to random mixes in youtube when i came across this one and a wave of memories came flooding back to me, even tho it hasnt even been that long. its a beautiful song, its very angelic. the lyrics are fairly standard, but still poetic.

big betrayal

post 6 from the old music blog
the splatoon 3 ost (in-game: deep cut)
it was so hard to find this song. ive been really into splatoween this year (go team ghost!!) and it was so humbling to ask google which song went "wee woo wee woo"... anyway, for once tiktok was useful and i found it that way. its such a good song. its been on loop cuz ive been playing sm haha. wanted to give it a shout out ^_^

kyu-kyurarin

post 5 from the old music blog
by iyowa
i was doing some soundcloud playlist maintenence, and let my loveletter vocaloid playlist go in the background, and this one's been dancing around my head all day. the ddlc reference is also cool ....

nothing last 4ever

post 4 from the old music blog
by rebzyyx
i gotta confess,,,, im a hyperpop fan,,,, i know!!!! ignore this its a guilty pleasure

feeling

post 3 from the old music blog
by turquoise death
i'm a huge turqdeath fan!!!!!!!! i love their single "dont look back" and their recent album se bueno is sooooo good. i was wondering if i should put se bueno here instead but this song is so chill and good that i was like. this one. i huge huge rec, i luv em!!!!!!!!! also, the cover art is especially pretty ^_^

demo world

post 2 from the old music blog
by rory in early 20s
i love rory in early 20s and i think its cool that shes getting more popular so i thought i would feature my fav recent track of hers!!! sounds so robotic and cool, im like 80% sure it uses a vocaloid or some kinda voicebank and i luuuuv it.

smiling broadly ep

post 1 from the old music blog
by smiling broadly
first post here, woo! anyway, i got into smiling broadly (previously twinkle park) via her youtube channel, and i really like her album touch or been touched by. this one is a little more harsh, in a fun way. i'm super excited for the full thing ^_^